The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to a luminaire having an LED light source, particularly to an LED luminaire sized to replace an incandescent light bulb, and more particularly to an LED luminaire sized to replace an A19 incandescent light bulb.
In recent years, there has been an increased interest in luminaires, sometimes referred to as “light bulbs” or lamps, which use light emitting diodes (“LEDs”) as a light source. These luminaires are quite attractive since they overcome many of the disadvantages of the conventional light sources, which include incandescent light bulbs, fluorescent light bulbs, halogen light bulbs and metal halide light bulbs.
Conventional light sources, such as incandescent light bulbs for example, typically have a short useful life. As such, lighting systems commonly incorporate a fixture or “socket” that allows the light bulbs to be interchanged when the light bulb fails to operate. One type of socket, sometimes known as the E25 or E26 Edison base, meets the criteria set by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), such as the ANSI C78.20-2003 standard for 60 Watt A19 type bulbs. The wide adoption of this standard allows the interchangeability of light bulbs from a variety of manufacturers into lighting systems.
Luminaires have been proposed that allow the use of LED luminaires in lighting systems. However, LED luminaires tend to emit light in a more directional manner than a corresponding incandescent light bulb. Incandescent light bulbs typically emit light in all directions (360 degree spherical arc about the filament). Thus an incandescent light bulb in a lamp for example emits light outwardly into the room and downward toward the surface that the lamp is resting. This provides for both general ambient lighting and task lighting in a single bulb. An LED module in a luminaire by contrast typically emits light over an arc of 120-150 degrees. As a result, the LED luminaire may not provide a desired coverage of light for the user or its use may be confined to task lighting applications.
Accordingly, while existing LED luminaires are suitable for their intended purposes, improvements may be made in increasing the ability of the luminaire to distribute light over a wider area, while also providing a direct replacement for conventional incandescent bulbs.
This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.